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Lunos
|Row 9 title = |Row 9 info = |Row 10 title = |Row 10 info = }} Lunos is the primary antagonist of Firebird, an ancient god who once governed death itself, thought to be himself dead for millennia after his botched betrayal of his life-loving counterpart, Helos. Revealed by Yshalnazeh to have somehow survived The Battle of the Rift in a weakened form, Lunos has now shed his original body as a phoenix wreathed in black fire, clinging to a vestige-like existence through the discarded body of Cedari Stillmind. The broodfathers of Alterra's chromatic dragons currently seek to restore his power with mass sacrifices, attempting to orchestrate the deaths of whole cities as the divine foci for their god's re-ascension. History Arrival Lunos first arrived on Alterra in answer to the call of the Fathermind, the psionic progenitor of the illithid race, appearing to the broodfathers of Drakehome as a wandering prophet. Over time, he politicked his way into the personal court of Tiamat and slowly corrupted the draconic goddess, planting seeds of suspicion against Bahamut and his metallic dragons. It is unknown just how long his machinations lasted, but at some point, the discord erupted into full-scale war between the draconic factions, claiming the lives of both Tiamat and Bahamut. Revelation When Lunos thereafter revealed his true nature as a divinity to the chromatic broodfathers, they had so long placed faith in his counsel that they pledged their fealty to the dark god as the first Nightwatchers, marching to war against Helos and the metallics at the Battle of the Rift, along with armies of dragon-serving mortal races. In a fiery apotheosis to the twin gods' feuding, Lunos claimed Helos's life on the battlefield, but not before the latter could return the favor, their deaths fueling a world-spanning inferno that rendered much of Alterra's surface completely uninhabitable. Even as the flames claimed Drakehome, both sides' draconic leaders disappeared to their Sanctums, leaving the world to burn. Survival Lunos, however, was not without a contingency. Somehow, the deity survived in a vastly weakened form -- barely more than a body of black flame inhabiting a cloak -- first resurfacing in a ruin on the Everplains, where his attempt to possess the paladin Antenoria was interrupted by a certain group of adventurers. Rumors of a "burning cloak" sewing chaos across Al Thelsar continued to grow until the creature appeared above Lockhearth on the night of a lunar eclipse, only to give Heijastus Avgrunn, Cedari Stillmind, and Bishop Stillheart of the modern Nightwatchers bizarre stone discs, then slaughter dozens of guards during a skirmish in the city's Commons. The cloak has never been seen since... From the Ashes ...save for one appearance in the streets of Stormholde, where it came to the defense of Cedari Stillmind after Altheranh attacked the warforged in a fit of rage sparked by Rheina Kardelen. Whether Stillmind actually survived or not is unclear, but when the dust had settled, Lunos was once more in possession of a corporeal body -- Cedari's. His resurrection secured and his sentience restored, the Firebird's first act was to turn on Altheranh, scolding him and the broodfathers for hiding in the Sanctums for so long, declaring them cowards. Giving the cowed broodfather one final chance, Lunos left for the local Assassins' Guild hideout -- for what reason is unknown -- where he briefly skirmished with Antenoria's rescuers once again, narrowly escaping. He has presumably since been in communication with the remaining chromatic broodfathers (Altheranh now dead at the hands of Fyost Duren), as Vaeleras has seemed to indicate by his unprompted assault on Ahdni'daht. Dogma Lunos abhors all life, seeing his own existence as a means to a necessary end, intending only to rest when the Balance is fully tipped in favor of chaos and death. His goals would be opposed by the lifegiving efforts of Helos, but since the latter's own death, things are looking ever bleaker... Special Rules Divine spellcasters deriving power from Lunos fall into two categories: the Nightwatchers, who may select from the Death, Sun, and Fire domains for their spells, and the True Nightwatchers -- chromatic dragons and their servants meticulously brainwashed and made into little more than tools for the dark god's revival. Dragonblooded, dragonborn, kobold, spellscale, or otherwise draconic clerics of Lunos may also select the Destruction and Negative Energy domains. Category:Non-Player Characters Category:Deities Category:Firebird